I had breakfast with a dear friend this morning and we spent a little time chatting about what people DO when they go online.
"Which sites do you visit most often?" he asked, and I explained the way in which Facebook has become a key part of the way in which I communicate with the close people in my life since having children.
I then confessed the other way in which I spend time on the net these days, namely, reading about microbiology.
I know it may sound funny that a 35 year old stay at home mother is excited about microbiology, but I am truly fascinated by the "final frontier" of medical research - mapping our inner ecology.
There are over 800 types of bacteria that live within our intestinal tract alone. Keeping them in balance is essential to good health, for more reasons than most people commonly realize.
More and more research is coming out these days tying different kinds of bacteria to major diseases including:
Cancer
Autoimmune diseases
Heart disease
Here are a few examples of cool new discoveries:
This past week, researchers from the Broad Institute and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced findings that have huge implications for people with colon cancer, or a family history of colon cancer.
They found that areas in the colon where tumors were located contained high levels of Fusobacteria, a bacteria also associated with appendicitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Some strains of Fusobacteria are known to cause serious inflammation if they are allowed to grow out of balance with other strains of bacteria.
As it turned out in 95 colon cancer patients, 10 to 15% of them showed that more than half of the bacteria in their malignant tissue was Fusobacteria.
Should the researchers conclude that Fusobacteria actually triggers colon cancer, cancer patients that test positive for Fusobacteria might be treated with antibiotics that could potentially shrink their tumors.
Cancer-free patients that test positive for Fusobacteria could take antibiotics preventatively to reduce their risk of developing tumors.
You can read more about their research here:
The Harvard Crimson
US News and World Report
TIME Magazine
However, there is something even more exciting coming down the pipeline...
More research, that yields a potential CURE for irritable bowel disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and maybe even colon cancer!
(Once again, the discovery relates to the infectious concept and the need to keep a healthy "balance-of-flora" in our personal biome.)
Researchers at Northwestern University have made a slight genetic alteration to a common probiotic found in yogurt and cheese, to create an effective therapy for diseases triggered by inflammation in the gut!
They deleted a single gene in the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus and then fed it to mice that had two different models of colitis. They treated the mice for 13 days, by which time the new probiotic strain 'nearly eliminated' colon inflammation in the mice. Disease progression was halted by 95%.
Ninety-five percent!!!
The associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University (Dr. Mansour Mohamadzadeh) who led the study is very enthusiastic about potential applications for their discovery:
“This opens brand new avenues to treat various autoimmune diseases of the gut, including inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer, all which can be triggered by imbalanced inflammatory immune responses."
* * *
I've known for about 15 months now about the relationship between bacteria, viruses and autoimmune disease.
I myself take doxycycline daily for its anti-inflammatory effects, and to kill a particular group of bacteria that are overgrown in my own system (mycoplasma pneumoniae, yersinia enterocolitica, borrelia burgdorferi).
The notion that bacteria and viruses are at the root of many cancers, though... this is a new one to me!
So I decided to look into it further to find out what types of bacteria or viruses are associated with other kinds of cancers.
Here is what I've found so far:
Breast Cancer: Mycoplasma
Prostate Cancer: Trichomonas vaginalis
Gallbladder Cancer: Salmonella typhi
Pancreatic Cancer: Neisseria elongata and Streptococcus mitis
Cervical Cancer: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
Colon Cancer: Fusobacterium, Streptococcus bovis
Stomach Cancer: Helicobacter pylori
Skin Cancer: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus haemolyticus and Staphylococcus epidermidis
Lung Cancer: Mycoplasma, Chlamydia pneumoniae
* * *
Happily, I am not alone in my fascination with the role of microbes in creating cancer.
In 2009 gastroenterologists at Rush University Medical Center received $750,000.00 from the US Department of Defense to chart the presence of microorganisms found in the gut and to explore "how microbial imbalances may impact diseases like breast cancer."
The principal investigator from the study, Dr. Ece Mutlu, explained their project further: “Similar to what has been done with human DNA, we want to map out the composition of these microorganisms from their DNA and analyze how they correlate to diseases and changes within the immune system. If we are able to find the microbes responsible for particular diseases, it may increase the likelihood of developing new diagnostic tests and treatments for diseases like breast cancer.”
* * *
I don't know about you, but I've had too many people I love affected by cancer and other "mysterious" diseases. My close friend died at age 15 (two decades ago!) of ovarian cancer. A precious seven-year-old dear to our family has dealt with ulcerative colitis since she was three. One of my best friends just beat breast cancer, having to walk through fire with faith to get through multiple surgeries and painful recovery time.
It's not fair.
I'm so ready for the scientists to solve these puzzles!!!
I love that it looks like this is finally happening :-)
My vision of healthcare in the future?
Chronic medicine will become 'inner biome rebalancing'.
A sample of gut and mouth flora will be taken once every few years (preventatively) and if your flora are out of balance and dangerously inflamed in some way... the doctor will prescribe either a modified antibiotic or probiotic (or both!) to create an 'ideal' balance.
Then, you'll go on your merry, healthy way - disease free!
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